- Ralph Stanley — Lead Vocals
- Charlie Sizemore — Guitar
- Junior Blankenship — Guitar
- Jack Cooke — Bass
- "Curly" Ray Cline
“On Heaven’s Bright Shore” is a gospel song of the familiar “heaven” kind, picturing a bright and peaceful shore beyond death — a place without sorrow or parting, where loved ones are reunited for good. Songs built on that consoling image run all through the country and bluegrass gospel tradition.
The song circulated through Southern gospel singing before it reached a wide bluegrass audience. It became closely tied to Alison Krauss, who recorded it as a teenager on “Two Highways,” her 1989 album with the band Union Station.
Krauss had grown up singing gospel music in church, and her clear, pure voice suited the song’s gentle hopefulness.